Damon makes persuasive case for Water.org

And with that, Matt Damon nipped off to conduct a TV interview, to warm applause from the room.

It's easy to be starstruck on these occasions -- but putting that aside, Damon and Gary White made a persuasive case for their campaign. They need support from business leaders and politicians attending Davos -- fingers crossed that they have some success this week.

And that's the end of our live blog for this evening (i think!). See you in the morning. GW

7.27pm GMT

Another question -- how does water.org guarantee that people who take our microloans can actually be guaranteed a long-term supply of safe water?

Gary White explains that Water.org will make loans to people for water cleaning and purification facilities, to help ensure that they make the break from dirty water permanently.

7.22pm GMT

My colleague, economics editor Larry Elliott, points out that water charities have traditionally struggled to get major support. How will Damon and White be different?

Matt Damon agrees that it's harder than campaigning on an issue such as HIV, where everyone knows someone who has been touched by the issue.

But those of us lucky enough to live in the first world DO have experience of dealing with diarrhea in our children -- that's a small taste of what people who don't have clean water are suffering from.

Damon adds that:

We are in the middle of trying to figure out right now how to.... explain the issue, and get people how to care.

He even held a mock press conference last year, saying he was going on a toilet strike, to bring more attention to the issue.

7.14pm GMT

Q&A begins

Onto questions -- and Matt Damon is asked who Water.org will be targeting at Davos.

There's lots of people who can help us, he replies.

And he won't be taking to the slopes this week, as he's got a broken collarbone.

7.13pm GMT

Now Gary White, CEO of Water.org, is explaining how the initiative is changing lives in the developing world.

He cites the example of a mother of five children who paid 1,200 rupees per month for an inadequate water supply.

She then took a microloan from Water.org, which will be repaid at 1,200 rupees per month for two years.

After two years, she'll be free and clear, says White, adding:

We can solve this crisis, as Matt said, we can do it in our lifetimes.

7.09pm GMT

Matt Damon: We want Davos's help to fight water crisis

I've gone from helping to dig wells that bring water to a few hundred people to getting two million people onto a clean water supply through Water.org, Matt Damon says.

We absolutely can solve this problem...and we are looking for help and support from people in Davos today.

7.06pm GMT

Every 20 seconds, a little kid under the age of five dies because they can't get clean water, says Matt Damon.

He says he started his involvement after travelling in the developing world and seeing how much need there was for water wells.

But it became clear that wells weren't enough -- so Damon and co-founder Gary White decided to launch a campaign to give loans to get a faucet into people's homes.

98% of those loans are repaid, he says.

Previously, families and communities had to pay punitive repayments to get a water connection.

As Damon puts it:

They were paying more for their water than we pay for our water.

Updated at 7.06pm GMT

7.02pm GMT

We're watching a video explaining how Water.org is fighting the water crisis by using 'water credits' or loans to needy households who don't have a clean supply of water or functional toilet facilities.

This works, he says, and when the loans are paid back the resources are redistributed to other families in need. Eventually, Damon believes, the water crisis can be addressed.

7.00pm GMT

Hello again. We're at a drinks reception in the Davos Hilton hotel, held for Matt Damon and his colleagues at Water.org -- the initiative to bring clean water to more people in the developing world.

WEF delegates are scattering across Davos to various seminars, parties and briefings, so I'm going to pause the blog now... There may be more tonight, if not we'll be back in the morning.... GW

6.38pm GMT

PwC: Bosses want tax reform

PwC also held a press conference to discuss its survey of CEOs (see last post) - Jill Treanor tweets the key points, including PwC's boss admitting that businesses have a hard fight to rebuild public trust.

Apparently CEOs also want the tax system reformed -- something critics of corporate tax avoidance could also support!

Pope tells Davos to fight inequality, hunger, refugee crisis.....

Perhaps the most important section of Pope Francis's message to Davos is that the world needs "a renewed, profound and broadened sense of responsibility on the part of all".

(and by all, he's clearly addressing business execs and world leaders who have travelled to the snowy ski resort for this week's Forum.)

The Pontiff didn't pull many punches, by pointing out that "it is intolerable that thousands of people continue to die every day from hunger, even though substantial quantities are available and wasted".

Pope Francis also railed against the treatment of refugees, saying that it was impossible not be moved by the plight of those who seek "minimally dignified living conditions", and who are not only turned away but perish moving place to place.

That's a nod towards the ongoing crisis in Syria, which is expected to be a big issue this week.

He went on to say that those who have used their talents and expertise to innovate (and who have already benefited people this way) can do more to help those suffering in "dire poverty".

And on the crucial issue of inequality, the Pope called for

decisions, mechanisms and processes directed to a better distribution of wealth, the creation of sources of employment, and an integral promotion of the poor that goes beyond a simple welfare mentality.

The growth of equality … calls for decisions, mechanisms and processes directed to a better distribution of wealth, the creation of sources of employment and an integral promotion of the poor, which goes beyond a simple welfare mentality,” he said.

It was delivered by Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace a few minutes ago. I'm sitting in the hall, and the message appeared to capture the attention of everyone packed in here.

5.32pm GMT

Jill Treanor (@jilltreanor)

Message from the pope for the #wef - asking for deeper reflection on the economic crisis

Key event

To summarise, the key message from the Pope is that Davos must make serious progress on fixing the economic system, and that business leaders must become more focused on fixing the world's problems. It's a big ask.

Business is a vocation, a noble vocations, as long as those involved feel challenged by a meaning in life. Those people can serve us all for the common good, he says.

Progress is about more than economic growth, the Pope's envoy continues. We can only all benefit from business if its leaders are looking to serve us all, rather than to simply serve themselves.

Updated at 5.34pm GMT

5.19pm GMT

Pope's message to Davos

Now, Pope Francis's envoy is taking to the stage, with a message from the pontiff himself.

The pope thanks Klaus Schwab and WEF for offering him an invitation (he's not able to attend, alas).

He adde that he "hopes it will provide an opportunity for deeper reflection on the causes of the economic crisis" that has hit the world in recent years.

The Message continues that we must praise the steps being taken to improve people's welfare in education, communications, and many other areas of human activity. And we must recognise the role that modern business activity has had in creating these opportunities.

But we cannot ignore the suffering in the world, he warns, and often important issues of human suffering are " little more than an afterthought" to business leaders.

Those in positions of power have a special responsibility to those less fortunate than themselves, he says. It is intolerable that so many people around the globe still die from hunger today.

Updated at 6.01pm GMT

5.13pm GMT

Klaus Schwab opens WEF 2014

The opening ceremony of this year's WEF is underway in Davos right now (writes Graeme Wearden from the congress hall).

Klaus Schwab, the founder and driving force of the event, is on stage now -- offering a "Really cordial welcome to the 44th World Economic Forum."

He's telling delegates (from excellencies and world leaders down to friends) to bring four things to make this year's event a success -- their brains, their souls, their hearts, and their "good nerves".

4.58pm GMT

Dusk has fallen in Davos, and the place is starting to fill up with delegates for the WEF, writes Graeme Wearden. Security guards are on the streets directing bumper-to-bumper cars - and redirecting anyone who tries to defy the strict traffic rules.

Police walk in front of the congress centre at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Photo: Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images

Updated at 4.12pm GMT

3.51pm GMT

Wall Street has opened lower after the long weekend (US markets were shut on Monday for Martin Luther King day), taking the shine off what was looking like a positive day elsewhere. It seems to be the prospect of further tapering by the US Federal Reserve which is doing the damage.

So the Dow Jones Industrial Average is currently down 57 points or 0.3%, which has helped knock European indices off the day's highs and has pushed the FTSE 100 into negative territory.

Updated at 4.18pm GMT

3.46pm GMT

Cue "Davos goes to the dogs" jokes, and the envy of those scrabbling around for authorisation badges:

Today he has unveiled a much higher growth forecast for the UK - 2.4%, rather than 1.9% forecast in October - and he tells reporters the recovery does appear to be sustainable. That is a little at odds with remarks from the Office for Budget Responsibility, which compiles forecasts for the government, that the UK remains too reliant on consumer spending.

Explaining the IMF's move to upgrade the UK's growth outlook by more than any other advanced economy, Blanchard said that six months ago domestic spending was weak. But consumers had surprised the fund's economists on the upside.

"Investment is still not doing as well", he noted but "many signals are good... so yes, we think this growth can continue for some time."

Updated at 3.39pm GMT

3.27pm GMT

More preparations for Davos, as participants begin to arrive.

Participants arrive at the congress center prior to the opening of the World Economic Forum. Photo: Eric Piermont /AFP/Getty Images

A staff member works to prepare the congress centre. Photo: Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images

A member of Swiss special police forces on the roof of the Congress Center in Davos. Photo: AP Photo/Michel Euler

3.21pm GMT

Bank of England forward guidance is "appropriate", says IMF

Olivier Blanchard, the IMF's chief economist, has been taking questions on a call with journalists on the fund's latest economic forecasts. Katie Allen writes:

Asked about the Bank of England's forward guidance policy, he said: "we do think it's appropriate. As we know the British economy is experiencing stronger than expected momentum".

The fund has highlighted the withdrawal of exceptional monetary stimulus from central banks around the world as a key risk to the global recovery. Blanchard's colleague, Thomas Helbling, praised the Bank of England's inclusion of financial stability considerations in the forward guidance scheme and its vow to look at financial risk factors from policy.The other risk flagged up by the IMF was the threat of deflation. Blanchard told reporters there were two places in the world where this was a concern. Firstly, Japan "because it has a history of deflation" but this was not a big worry right now.

"The part of the world where we worry more is the eurozone where you have a recpvery in the core but you have very weak demand in the south."

He said the important thing for central bankers was to anchor price expectations and to do whatever possible to sustain demand to counter the threat of deflation.

3.04pm GMT

Balls unimpressed by IMF upgrade

The Treasury welcomed the IMF's increased forecast for UK growth this year but shadow chancellor Ed Balls was predictably less impressed. Here's his response:

After three damaging years of flatlining, any growth is both welcome and long overdue. But this is the slowest recovery for 100 years and working people are facing a cost-of-living crisis with real wages now down £1600 a year under David Cameron.

With business investment still weak and the IMF forecasting that UK growth will slow down again next year, it’s clear that this is not yet a recovery that is built to last. Simply to catch up all the lost ground since 2010 we need 1.5 per cent growth each quarter between now and the election.

Instead of more complacency from George Osborne we need Labour’s plan to secure a stronger recovery and earn our way to higher living standards for the many, not just a few at the top. That means reforms to our banks and energy market, expanding free childcare to make work pay, a compulsory jobs guarantee and a plan to build 200,000 new homes a year.

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls accused George Osborne of being complacent in his response to the IMF's upgrade of UK growth prospects. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA

And on that note, I'm handing over to my colleague Nick Fletcher.

Updated at 3.21pm GMT

2.56pm GMT

IMF ups its UK growth forecast

Global economic recovery will quicken this year but stay "weak and uneven", the International Monetary Fund's top economist has said.

Blanchard said the IMF had raised its UK growth forecast to 2.4% for this year, from a previous forecast of 1.9%. The upgrade – the biggest for a G7 country – is a small victory for George Osborne because Blanchard warned last year that the chancellor's austerity drive was too risky.

Here's an excerpt from our story by Katie Allen:

The forecast for global growth was barely changed from 3.6% pencilled in last October when the IMF published its closely watched World Economic Outlook (WEO).

"The brakes to the recovery are progressively being loosened. The drag from fiscal consolidation is diminishing. The financial system is slowly healing. Uncertainty is decreasing," said Blanchard, unveiling the fund's latest update to the WEO forecasts.

The Washington-based fund also stuck by its view that growth in advanced economies would accelerate markedly this year, to 2.2% from 1.3% in 2013. Growth in emerging market and developing economies will edge up to 5.1% from 4.7% in 2013, Blanchard said.

He highlighted risks from deflation in the eurozone and the unwinding of years of ultra-loose monetary policy and stressed the recovery was fragile and by no means equally spread.

"Among advanced economies, it is stronger in the US than in Europe, stronger in the euro core than in Southern Europe. In most advanced economies, unemployment remains much too high. And downside risks remain," Blanchard said.

Blanchard welcomed a slowdown in the UK austerity process: "Conditions are increasingly favourable in the UK and the euro core. Public debts are on sustainable paths, and fiscal consolidation is, rightly, slowing down. Credit conditions are favourable," Blanchard said.

The Treasury welcomed the UK upgrade, which was the largest for any of the the advanced G7 countries. "Today's report provides further evidence that the government's long term economic plan is working," a spokesman said.

"But the job is not yet done and so the government will go on taking the difficult decisions necessary to deliver a sustainable recovery for all."

Ireland's no bargain

After all its travails of recent years, Ireland remains the fifth priciest country in the EU. It costs more to live there than the UK and Germany but disposable income is on the up.

Henry McDonald, our Ireland correspondent, reports from Dublin:

Ireland is still the fifth most expensive country in the EU with prices higher than the UK, Holland and even Europe's powerhouse economy, Germany, new figures reveal today.

Despite a five year long recession, the cost of living crisis in the Republic goes on with prices 15 per cent above the EU average.

The Irish Central Statistics Office confirms today that while Irish prices have fallen from being the second highest in Europe before the 2008 crash, consumers are still paying far more for goods and services than most of their EU counterparts except those in high-tax, affluent Scandinavia and Luxembourg.

These latest CSO figures in their “Measuring Ireland's Progress Report 2012” also confirm that, even though Ireland has left the IMF-EU bailout and rating agencies have predicted the economy will grow in 2014, Irish unemployment remains the fifth highest in Europe.

The jobless rate is due to factors such as the crash in the Irish construction industry which during the crisis years between 2008 and 2012 made up 60 per cent of all jobs lost in Ireland during the recession.

Back to Irish prices in the High Street, the forecourt, the shopping centre and the pub, it seems consumers at least have an extra €49 to spend each month.

Irish disposable income has increased by an average of almost fifty euros according to a survey released today by the Irish League of Credit Unions.

The report on the “What's Left Tracker” found by the end of 2013 that there had been a gradual recovery in family finances.

The Credit Union survey also reveals that 44 per cent of Irish adults are now likely to save some money every month - up by 13 per cent compared to last year.

But Irish not only face the 5th highest prices in Europe, around seven out of ten of them owe money on their credit card and one third use their cards to get the basic essentials each month.

Tough time in store for UK food retailers: Moody's

After a gruelling Christmas, there's not much relief in store for Britain's big food retailers, according to ratings agency Moody's. In a report on the sector, its analysts pick Tesco and Morrisons as chains that could suffer from continued pressure on household finances despite signs of economic recovery.

Yasmina Serghini-Douvin, Moody's analyst who wrote the report, said:

We anticipate pressure on UK consumer spending to only ease in the latter part of the year as economic growth gradually improves. In the meantime, price conscious consumers will remain attracted to promotions and hard discounters, and are unlikely to increase their average spend. This is likely to result in downward pressure on many UK food retailers' sales and margins for much of 2014.

So while manufacturing activity picks up, consumers are going to stay constrained. Material there for visitors to Davos to ponder ahead of the IMF's revised forecast for UK and global growth, due in less than an hour.

IMF battles through severe weather

A severe storm is about to hit Washington DC, so the International Monetary Fund has switched its planned press briefing to a conference call. The fund's top economists will be on the phone at 2:30pm UK time as planned to set out revised forecasts for the world economy. With up to 11 inches of snow predicted and all federal offices closed for the day, hats off to the IMF for persevering.

A severe snow storm is forecast to add to already freezing weather in Washington DC, home to the IMF. Photograph: Xinhua/Landov/Barcroft Media

Updated at 12.51pm GMT

12.12pm GMT

Hoffman reveals Co-op approach

While I was writing about the WEF's seven digital principles, Reuters snapped that Gary Hoffman told MPs he was approached about joining the Co-op Bank during the attempted sale of the Lloyds branches. Just to recap, Hoffman was chief executive of NBNK, which was competing with the Co-op to buy the branches. The plot thickens.

12.05pm GMT

Digital principles get Davos going

Here's a taster of the kind of thing they might be talking about at Davos. The World Economic Forum, which hosts the event, has published "seven principles for adapting to the new digital world". The principles are meant to increase understanding and agreement about who owns what content on the web – and they're going to be tested in the UK and Indonesia.

Here's what Ofcom head Ed Richards thinks:

There is a complex coordination challenge here; it is a global issue with a lot of players and conflicting economic incentives. To move forward, there often needs to be a neutral party holding the ring.

Couldn't be clearer.

A Swiss special policeman patrols on a roof before the start of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum 2014 in Davos. Photograph: Ruben Sprich/reuters

Updated at 1.13pm GMT

11.51am GMT

Levene gets tough over Lloyds branches

After a short break, Lord Levene and Gary Hoffman are back giving evidence at the Treasury committee. Levene has already sounded fed up with the former Lloyds chairman, Sir Win Bischoff. Now he says he personally handed Bischoff an analysis of the flaws in the Co-op's bid for Lloyds branches. At an earlier session, Bischoff said he didn't recall seeing any such document.

Levene's main gripe is that Lloyds favoured the Co-op because there was political pressure to sell the branches to a mutually owned lender, which was an idea in favour at the time. He claimed earlier in the session that former Bank of England governor Baron Mervyn King told him his suspicions were well founded.

The Telegraph's Harry Wilson thinks it's heavy stuff:

Harry Wilson (@harrynwilson)

This is getting pretty serious. Lord Levene is being explicit about handing Lloyds chair Sir Win Bischoff a warning about Co-op's Verde bid

Demand for oil set to rise this year

Demand for oil will increase along with economic growth, particularly in developed markets, the IEA said.

"Global oil demand growth appears to have gradually gained momentum in the last 18 months, driven by economic recovery in the developed world," the IEA said in its monthly report.

11.27am GMT

Positive reaction to the CBI manufacturing survey

Jack Allen and Martin Beck at Capital Economics have put out a quick reaction to the CBI's industrial trends survey. They're encouraged:

The CBI Industrial Trends Survey for January and Q1 provided grounds for optimism on the pace and balance of the manufacturing recovery...

The quarterly orders balances (past and expected) both rose. And even though the business optimism balance fell slightly from +24 in Q4 to +21 in Q1, it is still consistent with strong annual growth in manufacturing output of 5% or more.

The survey’s investment and export indicators were encouraging for the composition of growth. Two of the survey’s investment intentions balances rose sharply, while the third remained well above its long-run average. And the quarterly export optimism balance remained fairly high at +8 (compared to -11 a year earlier), despite sterling’s recent strength.

In all, then, the survey gave signs that the economic recovery is set to broaden beyond household consumption to investment and exports.

Updated at 1.09pm GMT

11.15am GMT

Manufacturing mood is upbeat, CBI survey shows

Good news for the Chancellor as Davos gets underway. The CBI has just published an optimistic quarterly survey of UK manufacturing. Here's the top paragraph from the press release:

Growth in new manufacturing orders was the strongest since April 2011, according to the latest CBI quarterly Industrial Trends Survey. In the three months to January 2014, domestic orders rose, uncertainty about demand fell and investment intentions for the year ahead picked up."

Levene and Hoffman talk money with MPs

Lord Levene told MPs earlier that he lost £60,000 from his NBNK vehicle's failed bid for more than 600 Lloyds branches. Treasury committee chairman Andrew Tyrie finds out that Levene was paid £300,000 a year as chairman for two years. "You were £60,000 down and £600,000 up – that would have been a more accurate reply wouldn't it?" Levene points out he had to pay tax and that he could have been doing another job instead. Former Northern Rock boss Gary Hoffman was paid £750,000 a year as chief executive of NBNK. Tyrie tots this up to be £1.8m plus a £1.8m golden hello. Hoffman doesn't argue with the figures.

10.56am GMT

Zew German sentiment survey – good news overall?

Carsten Brzeski at ING reckons the German Zew survey is good news for Europe's biggest economy:

The ZEW index, which measures investors’ confidence, decreased slightly and now stands at 61.7, from 62.0 in December. At the same time, investors have become significantly more positive on the current economic situation. The current assessment component accelerated to 41.2, from 32.4 in December. The strong equity market, the smooth tapering announcement and the possibility of further ECB action have clearly kept German investors in a positive mood.

10.29am GMT

Lord Levene gets it off his chest

Lord Levene is appearing at the Treasury Select Committee to give his version of the "project verde" process to sell more than 600 Lloyds Banking Group branches. Levene, the former chairman of the Lloyd's of London insurance market, tried to buy the branches to launch a new bank but he was rejected in favour of the Co-op Bank. The Co-op's bid fell apart last year and Levene has been fuming since. He's started in forthright form, telling MPs the process was handled in bad faith. Here's the Telegraph's Harry Wilson:

Mixed signals from Zew German sentiment survey

The Zew survey of investor and analyst sentiment is out. The index for economic sentiment fell slightly to 61.7 from last month's 62.0 but the current conditions index has jumped to a 20-month high of 41.2, ahead of expectations for a reading of 34.1. Reuters reports that the news caused the euro to fall against the dollar. Here's a tweet from Markit Economics:

Markit Economics (@MarkitEconomics)

ZEW German Economic Sentiment Index at 61.7 in Jan (62.0 in Dec); Current Conditions Index at 41.2 (20-month high) pic.twitter.com/7fvv1PnWsQ

Standard Chartered takeover talk is back

Aha. It looks like takeover talk is behind the rise in Standard Chartered's shares - up almost 3% and second only to Unilever on the FTSE 100 leader board. The FT has published an article suggesting the Asia-focused bank's recent mishaps and falling share price could finally spur a rival such as Australia's ANZ to make a bid for its prized emerging markets operations. Then again, people have been waiting for that to happen for 15 years or more.

Europe and North America take the fizz out of SAB Miller

SAB Miller appears to be echoing Unilever's glum comments on consumer spending in developed markets.

The brewer's third-quarter sales were up, powered by strong growth in Asia, Africa and other emerging regions. But in Europe sales fell. North America net producer revenue rose 1% but sales to retailers dropped. Struggling consumers in mature markets aren't drowning their sorrows in Peroni, Coors or Grolsch in great numbers, it seems.

SAB Miller's chief executive Alan Clark said: The combination of pricing and volume growth, particularly in Africa, Latin America and China, supported net producer revenue growth of 4%. This was in spite of continued weakness in consumer sentiment, which particularly impacted our European and North American businesses."

SAB Miller shares were down more than 2% on the news at 9:10am.

8.45am GMT

Unilever did well in emerging markets but apparent economic recovery doesn't seem to have done much for sales of Domestos and Viennetta in developed countries. Here's Sky's Joel Hills' tweet:

Joel Hills (@joelhillssky)

"Flat at best" - boss of Unilever describes sales across developed economies. Recovery helping car sales and housing but not Unilever.

UK, eurozone and German survey data expected

On top of whatever comes out of Davos and the IMF's updated forecasts, we're also expecting keenly watched surveys on the health of the UK, eurozone and German economies. The CBI releases its industrial trends survey at 11am, which will give a snapshot of the state of British manufacturing. Markets are hoping for improved results from the Zew surveys of eurozone and German business confidence.

8.24am GMT

FTSE 100 gets a fillip from Chinese central bank action

The FTSE 100 is up in early trading, benefiting from action overnight by the People's Bank of China to relieve the squeeze on interbank lending. The Chinese central bank intervened to bring down interbank lending rates, which were pushed up by consumers withdrawing cash for New Year, Mike van Dulken at Accendo Markets said. This may help explain the strong showing for Standard Chartered, the UK bank that makes most of its money in Asia. The index is up more than six points at 6843.

8.14am GMT

Unilever pleases the market with fourth quarter sales

Investors like what they hear from Unilever. The maker of Pot Noodle, Dove soap and Vaseline's shares are up more than 4% in early trading, leading the FTSE 100 gainers. Underlying sales were up 4.1% in the fourth quarter compared with analysts' consensus of 3.9%. Equivalent sales rose 8.4% in emerging markets.

Chief executive Paul Polman said the company had produced another year of solid growth and prepared for further cost cuts.

We anticipate ongoing volatility in the external environment and are positioning Unilever accordingly. Although the investments we have made over the last five years ensure that we are well placed, we are determined to make Unilever even more agile and to fund further growth opportunities by driving out complexity and cost.

Updated at 1.12pm GMT

7.58am GMT

Leaders meet to discuss reshaping of world economy

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of events across the financial markets, the global economy, the eurozone and the business world.

The World Economic Forum's annual meeting of financial and political leaders starts this evening at its usual venue - the Swiss ski resort of Davos. Many of the leading figures in finance will spend the day trekking across Switzerland to reach the remote town in time for this evening's opening dinner.

This year's theme is: The Reshaping of the World: Consequences for Society, Politics and Business. Technology is creating huge social change, "shifting power from traditional hierarchies to networked heterarchies" but international leaders are still in crisis mode, the meeting's blurb says. The aim is to use the meeting to figure out a response to what's going on.

To coincide with the start of Davos, the IMF is set to publish its latest World Economic Outlook. The widely trailed update on October's figures is expected to upgrade forecasts for global GDP and to increase the estimate for UK economic growth this year. The IMF has been highly critical of UK economic policy in the past so Chancellor George Osborne is likely to use a more upbeat assessment to reinforce his recent theme that the coalition's "economic plan is working".

On the UK front, the big company reporting today is Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant. Unilever published its first profit warning for many years in October but Paul Kavanagh at Killik & Co is calmed by today's numbers.